Listening to the hubs working on our front gate. We had taken it off
when Schultz passed, as it's much easier to get a wheel barrow through,
and just the general bother. But a little over a week ago, we decided
to bring another dog into our lives.
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| Gypsy, the red heeler and who knows what mix. We got a DNA test and the results should arrive in a couple weeks. |
To that end, I drove down to a shelter in Phoenix, intending to meet a 5 month old puppy there. It just wasn't to be, for several reasons, and I probably should have just come on back up. But I made the "mistake" of looking around, and I met Gypsy. The shelter does as well as they can, given the lack of funding so many of these places work through, but they just about told me whatever I wanted to hear to get a dog out the door. Gypsy was "good with cats, dogs, and kids" and "lived in a house her whole two years". Well, to start with, her paper work says she's three years, not two. And she's a red heeler mix, not an aussie mix.
Well, I did test her with a cat--unfortunately it was a mascot shelter cat who was afraid of nothing, and when Gypsy went nose to nose with him, of course he didn't run. So she didn't chase. Until I got her home to our two cats--who definitely run. Enter prey drive.
But she's smart as she can be, and in less than two weeks, she's learned (mostly) that chasing the cats is verboten, and that she need not be afraid of men. She is potty trained--not a single accident since she came to live with us. She sleeps peacefully in her crate by the bed each night.
So Phil and I no longer wonder what idiocy it was, me bringing her home, and we are all learning that we have a lot of fun hiking and training to do in our future. We have lots of work to do on manners and socializing--she's still skittish at Home Depot, etc., and we've yet to test the dog park. But our lives are full of dogness again, and we needed that so much.
We don't even mind the dog hair.
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| Her Other favorite human. |
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| Most of the time, she really is as innocent as she looks. |
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| And when she's really tired in the evenings, the cats get all brave and join the fun. |
Oh Jan, Of course you need a doggie in your lives! She's lovely and very lucky!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sherri. She's a handful, with so much energy. Sometimes I wonder what in the world have I done??? But totally worth it, and I truly believe I'm becoming a better, more patient person as I learn to understand what she needs to be a good citizen. :~)
DeleteCongrats on your sweet Gypsy. Sounds like everything is working out well. :o)
ReplyDelete~Carolyn
It is! More progress ever single day. And the more mini-training sessions we have, the calmer and more confident she seems.
DeleteAww!! Congratulations! She looks like a sweetheart, for sure. I know she will love you for rescuing her. She looks like she already does! In our house, the cat is the bully, not the dog. LOL!
ReplyDeleteHaha! We have two cats--Willie and Tater. The female (Willie) is a bully, and fairly neurotic, but she's learning to tolerate the dog. :~)
DeleteSo glad you got a wonderful dog to enjoy. This is Martha. We changed servers and I will probably show up as anonymous. We haven't worked out the kinks yet, but you know who it is. Great pictures and the dog is very pretty and gentle looking and acting too. the cats will learn how to deal with her as well. You will be blessed for the rescue of the dog too in more ways than one. So happy you have a sweet doggie to love.
ReplyDeleteI see you, Martha! I will keep an eye out for your posts, or re-find and subscribe to your blog. We call Gypsy a rescue, but I'm not sure who rescued who.
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